S T E A M B O AT
TODAY
FRIDAY
OCTOBER 9, 2009
Steamboat Springs, Colorado
FREE
®
Vol. 21, No. 242
RO U T T
C O U N T Y ’ S
DA I LY
N E W S PA P E R
S T E A M B O AT S P R I N G S
Chilly, wet weekend Storms moving through valley until Monday bring chance of snow Page 4
S T E A M B O AT S P R I N G S
Ski swap set for Oct. 16 Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club fundraiser takes place next weekend Page 32
SPORTS
MATT STENSLAND/STAFF
Ski Haus has become a fixture for outdoor equipment throughout the years. The store is celebrating its 40th anniversary this weekend. Owner Rod Schrage, top left, opened the store when he was 19.
Ski Haus turns 40
Outdoor gear, clothing store going strong decades after opening Mike Lawrence
PILOT & TODAY STAFF
STEAMBOAT SPRINGS
Sailors face Rifle Page 31
LOOK INSIDE for
Rod Schrage said he didn’t have a long-term plan when he took over a struggling little business called Ski Haus at the base of Mount Werner 40 years ago. “I don’t think when you’re 19 you have a long-term plan for anything,” Schrage said Wednesday, standing in the outdoor gear and clothing store at
■ WEATHER
■ INDEX Briefs . . . . . . . . . 10 Classifieds . . . . . 42 Colorado . . . . . . 24 Comics . . . . . . . 40 Crossword . . . . . 41 Happenings . . . . . 7
U.S. Highway 40 and Pine Grove Road. A lack of planning may have been for the best. There’s probably no way Schrage could have foreseen in 1969 the four decades to come. Those decades included the winter drought of 1976-77, when Steamboat Ski Area closed for much of January; four locations for Ski Haus; the addition in the early ’80s of a gas station and liquor store to the shop at 1450 S. Lincoln Ave.;
Horoscope . . . . . 40 Nation . . . . . . . . 27 Scoreboard . . . . 39 Sports . . . . . . . . 31 ViewPoints . . . . . 8 World . . . . . . . . . 29
Partly cloudy. High of 51.
Page 51
the switch to running year-round from winter-only; the explosions of snowboarding and mountain biking; the diversification of ski equipment and styles; and more waxes, tune-ups and boot fittings than anyone could count. Schrage’s Ski Haus started with a parental gift. “I had the most wonderful father in the world,” Schrage said when asked about the initial purchase of the store. “He was willing to take a chance on a
19-year-old.” Schrage said that sometimes in those early years he wouldn’t tell his father the entire truth about the store’s finances, to preserve his father’s faith in the business. The toughest time, Schrage said, was that long, dry winter of 1976-77. There was no snowmaking at the ski area, and the clouds were barren. “It was devastating, both See Ski Haus, page 14
■ EXPLORE STEAMBOAT Your weekend guide to arts and entertainment in Steamboat Springs, including movie times and film reviews, begins on page 17.
Visit www.ExploreSteamboat.com.